Electronic devices have traditionally interfaced to other electronic devices through the use of specially designed cables. There are many drawbacks associated with the use of specially designed cables. These drawbacks include: limited mobility of the electronic device, the requirement of specially designed cable connectors that are not universal, the requirement of multiple connectors for each electronic device desired to be interfaced, and workspace obstructions associated with cables connecting to the electronic devices.
The present invention enables users to interface with a wide range of computing and telecommunication devices seamlessly without a cable connecting the devices. As such, the present invention allows for the replacement of the many proprietary cables that connect one device to another with one universal short-range radio link. For instance, BLUETOOTH® devices will replace RS-232, parallel, Universal Serial Bus (USB), and other types of cables with a single, standard wireless connection. Therefore, any BLUETOOTH®-enabled device will be able to communicate with any other BLUETOOTH®-enabled device. For example, a BLUETOOTH®-certified personal digital assistant (PDA) or cellular phone will work with any personal computer equipped with a BLUETOOTH®-enabled card. Printers, PDA's, cellular telephones, desktop computers, fax machines, keyboards, joysticks and virtually any other digital device can be part of the BLUETOOTH® system.
BLUETOOTH® technology does more than just untethering devices by replacing the cables, BLUETOOTH® radio technology provides a universal bridge to existing data networks, a peripheral interface, and a mechanism to form small private ad hoc groupings of connected devices away from fixed network infrastructures.